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Vodafone Warriors tackle eSports

Vodafone Warriors tackle eSports

It’s the dawn of a new age in eSports, an industry that is demanding the recognition and respect that traditional sports receive, and today it’s validating that claim.

The Vodafone Warriors are getting involved with eSports in a serious way. They’ve answered the call to duty and have agreed to be ambassadors for the six teams competing in the LPL2 Call of Duty Infinite Warfare Premiership in association with Logitech G and Twitch.

The eSports Premiership will be the first Infinite Warfare tournament to be televised in the world. From today (Wednesday, November 16), eSports fans can follow New Zealand’s top Call of Duty teams in a six-team, six-week tournament that culminates in a live Grand Final at SKYCITY Theatre on December 21.

The six-week series will be televised live on SKY Sport 2, SKYGO, and FAN PASS every week at 7:30 pm. Round-robin and playoff matches will be streamed weekly online for free at www.letsplay.live and Twitch on Friday and Saturday nights from 7pm.

The Grand Final will feature the winning teams as well as a curtain-raiser involving two Vodafone Warriors teams playing Call of Duty, live on SKY Sport.

The Vodafone Warriors will be working closely with each CoD team. The players assisting with their respective LPL CoD teams are Ben Matulino, Jazz Tevaga, Ata Hingano, Albert Vete, Sam Lisone, and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. Each Vodafone Warrior will coach his respective team on teamwork, fitness, and developing a winning mindset.

Twenty-five New Zealand teams competed in qualifiers for the six available spots. The final teams include top players from the Call of Duty World Series.

The Vodafone Warriors are no strangers to the Call of Duty franchise, playing it in their downtime and when they’re on the road.

The club is looking to build a bridge between traditional sports and eSports. This will allow the Vodafone Warriors to engage with a millennial audience that may not follow traditional media.

The Vodafone Warriors join a growing trend of major sports franchises getting involved with eSports. Franchises like EPL’s Manchester United, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, FC Schalke 04 and Valencia have already established their position in the eSports market.

With a 40% year over year growth of eSports the industry is red hot. The 2016 League of Legends World Championship saw a global viewership of 36 million people. Compare that to the NBA Championship, which received 19.94 million viewers, and you can see why traditional sports are beckoning to the call.

Recent developments over the past year indicate that eSports is likely to appear at the 2022 Winter Olympics and is also being considered for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Global viewership in 2016 for eSports was 150 million regular fans and 125 million casual fans, the latter watching mostly the large tournaments. LPL 2 will be reaching this global audience with its online partner, Twitch.tv.

Tune in on Wednesday to see Ben Matulino’s team Slicer vs Albert Vete’s team Crucial go head to head live on SKY Sport 2 from 7:30pm.

Answer the call and contact us to find out more about the premiership, eSports or to attend a broadcast at our dedicated eSports studio.